HomeReviewsShoppingCreationsLinksCommunity
CategoriesNew ReviewsTop RatedSearch ReviewsNewsletter
Lego Maniacs' Guide: Reviews: Town : Launch Command : Shuttle Launch Pad

[Purchase Lego at Amazon.com] 6339 - Shuttle Launch Pad

Rating: 4 Stars
Pros: This set is a blast (no pun intended)! Lots of fun pieces and the main model is a masterpiece
Cons: Very expensive; the top of the tower assembly is not as stable as it ought to be
Contents: 536 pieces including 4 mini-figs
Price: $59.99 - Discontinued
Reviewed: 13-Sep-1996
Reviewed by: Joseph Gonzalez

6339 Man's humble beginnings called him to look up to the stars and wonder what mysteries lay beyond his reach, what ultimate glory his destiny would bring him. As time passed, the creature developed, tools were created, the mind progressed and basic elements were mastered yet the ever-present quest for more made him reach out just a bit further. In time, he empowered himself to cross the oceans, climb the mountains and rise above the clouds, until at last he was prepared to leap beyond the sky. It is said that Prometheus brought down fire to mortal man, now we're taking it back to the heavens!


This is an exciting Lego set! I was quite impressed with all of the shuttle sets I had seen by Lego, and at just the right time I caught this particular set on sale and snatched it up. The set includes some great elements to make the space shuttle, the booster rocket, launching platform, tower, and small control center.
The base of the launch tower takes up a 16x32 green plate which is attached to a 32x32 plate. The larger plate makes up a small runway for the launch platform to roll on. The tower stands more than thirty bricks high and is an impressive structure in its own right. I had never seen a tower constructed using the diagonal strut rods that are included with the set. These diagonal support rods make the tower a lot more stable than it could have stood on its own. There isn't really an elevator to go up and down the tower, but there is a sliding winch construction on top of the tower for technicians to goof off with or to take care of any adjustments you might need to make to the standing shuttle once it is in place.
The winch construction is a fairly unique and ingenious design but the housing assembly on top of the tower is a little bit flimsy and comes apart if you're pulling too fast or lifting something too heavy (don't even think about hoisting a twenty-five-pound bag of dog food).
The control booth set at the base of the tower is quite cool for the window decals and assortment of tools (screwdriver, crescent wrench, hammer, drill, blowtorch, etc.) that come with it but it is sitting uncomfortably close to where the booster rockets will be firing when the launch finally takes place. If you're unlucky enough to draw the short straw and end up in the control booth for a launch, don't be surprised if the rest of the crew hand you hotdogs and marshmallows and say they'll get back to ya later.
The launch platform is a 16x16 platform with wheels (four pairs so you can make some cars as alternate sets) with a pair of standing forks on either side of the platform that hold the shuttle steady in transit to or from the tower. This platform is more than a simple design, and was a fun additional assembly.
The main booster rocket and sub-boosters (mini-boosters, booster-juniors?) was also a fun assembly and included some interesting half-cylinder pieces mentioned below.
The shuttle itself, is of course the piece de resistance with the two cargo doors that open up to reveal the jointed robot arm and satellite that sit inside. I'm a little bit unhappy with the one-piece roof for the cockpit that doesn't let you pull the astronaut pilot out unless you rip the roof off, but this is an old complaint that goes against almost all airplane models, the 4559-Cargo Railway locomotive, and any other vehicle booths that are inaccessible due to lack of doors or walkways. Other than that, I really enjoy having a shuttle and I am tempted to seek out the 6544-Shuttle Transcon or the 6346-Launching Crew just to have another shuttle model on hand.
Figures include two blue-suit red-cap technicians, the scientist/specialist (I'm with Lou Zucaro, this guy looks an awful lot like Lance Ito), and what else but the spacesuit astronaut/pilot (man, I dig that silvery visor!)
There are a LOT of new/unique pieces and due to complexity of description and the variety here, I'll run through what I could see briefly. There is a one-piece flat which makes up both wings of the shuttle, this wing-flat is 14 studs long and 16 studs wide at the base but tapers to 4 studs at the narrow end, this piece comes in black and in white. Other unique pieces are the white tube/sleeves that slide over the end of 2 and 3-tooth elbow joints linking these joints to make up the robot arm. There is also a peculiar 1x1 round grey flat with a ball appendage that fits into a socket of one of the 3-tooth elbow joints for the robot arm, this ball-joint flat is actually the end of the robot arm and the piece that attaches to the satellite for removal from the shuttle. The rear end of the shuttle uses two strange 2x4x1 rounded-top white bricks (each looks like a small cylinder with one flat side) and the booster uses 2x4x4 grey cylinder halves and 4x4 grey disk bricks with 4 holes spaced evenly around the edge of the disk, one of these holes in the disk is for connecting pins whose opposing ends connect to the shuttle. There are also various sized flat-top cones in white, black and grey, and a couple of white 2x2 nose cones. The tower utilizes long red support rods that I haven't even seen in technic sets before (but I don't have a lot of technic sets), red 1x2x5 standing beams, and two red technic forks (these hold the booster in place at the base of the tower). Complaints include the goofy design of the no-entrance cockpit and proximity of the control booth to the tower. Both of these were covered above.
This set has a lot of cool bricks and odds and ends that will allow you to make gazillions of alternate sets. It is one of those sets that would make a great first set or be very much worth the comparison to a bucket of specialized pieces. It's expensive but has lots of potential.

38 readers have rated this set as 4.445 out of 5 stars.
What do you think? Rate This Set

Copyright © 2014 ADEQUATE.com   LEGO and LEGO Maniac are registered trademarks of the LEGO Group. ADEQUATE.com Lego Maniacs' Guide and the pages within are not created or endorsed by the LEGO Group.